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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island National Guard sergeant who was killed saving a boy in Afghanistan has been remembered as a hero.

Rhode Island National Guard commander Kevin McBride said Monday that Sgt. Dennis Weichel Jr. had “the courage of a warrior” and “the heart of a father.”

A memorial service was held for the 29-year-old Weichel at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence. He was buried with full military honors at the Veterans Cemetery in Exeter.

The Providence resident was struck and killed by an armored vehicle March 22 after moving an Afghan boy to safety who was trying to retrieve something under the vehicle. The military previously reported the child was a girl.